File-cabinet.



C. H. ROBERTSON.

FILE CABINET.

l v APPLICATION FILED MAR. I8.- 1914. 1,209,033. Patented Dec-19,1916

` l 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

I mi linnn-000 *Tftf III" l l Ill/"lll, will CJ. Robertson @Ima/woz.

C. H. ROBERTSON.

FILE CABINET. APPLICATION FILED IIIAII` Ia. 1914..

Patented Dep. 19, 1916.

vz SHEETS-sum' 2.

' @WMM Y CIZ Z'nbertson SQMI :I

CLARENCE HOVEY ROBERTSON, 0F SHANGHAI, CHINA.

FILE-CA Application filed March 18,

To all ywhom t may Concern Be it known that I, CLARENCE H. ROBERT- soN, a citizenof the United States, residing at Shanghai, in China, have invented new and useful Improvements in File-Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

An object of the invention is to provide a file cabinet particularly adapted for use in connection with desks and tables or other kinds of furniture and wherein the file cabinet can be readily and quickly moved from a normal closed position to an exposed or open position.

The invention contemplates, among other features. the provision of a cabinet which is preferably of the vertically movable type and which, when used in connection with flat top desks or tables, will normally lie beneath the plane of the top of the piece of furniture and an be readily moved into an exposed position to project above the top of the piece of furniture so that the user can have access to the contents of the cabinet.

In the further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of this specification, in which similar characters of ref'- erence denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragn'ientary perspective view of a desk, showing my device in closed position; Fig.2 is ay similar view. showing the device in open position; Fig. 3 isa vertical transverse sectional view taken through the desk, and showing the cabinet in side elevation when in closed position; Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the-cabinet when in closed position; Fig. 5 is a similar vview when the cabinet is in open position; and Fig. G is a fragmentary enlargedsectional view showing the member for holding the cabinet in open position.

Referring more particularly to the views. l' disclose a desk 10 having a top 11 and which has a plane upper face 1Q provided at one end with a rectangular cut away portion 13. A closure 14 is mounted to swing upon the desk 10. with the said closure. when in vertical position. being open relatively to the eut away portion 1S and whenin horizontal position being adapted to lie flush with the upper plane face 1Q of the top ll and form a part thereof.

A frame 15 is carried by the desk 10. beneaththe top 11 and in the vertical plane Specification of Letters Patent.

a part of the top of the desk.

BINET.

Patented Dec. 19, 1916.

1914. Serial No. 825,564.

of` the cut away portion 13, the said frame 15 being in the nature of slides or guides for slidably supporting a compartment member 16, in the nature of a box or other similar receptacle which can be formed to conveniently hold paper or other stationery, mucilagebottles or ink wells. The compartment member 16 is so arranged upon the frame that it can be slid upwardly thereon to be exposed through the cut away portion 13, and by referring to the views, it will be seen that when the compartment member is in lowered position and the closure' 14. is in closed position, an upward movement of the cmnpartn'ient member will cause the said member to engage. the closure 14 and swing the same upwardly into open position so that the compartment member can be exposed to view and will project above the plane face of the top 11, while the closure, swinging up: wardly and rearwardly upon the desk, will be disposed in the rear of the compartment member and lie in a plane perpendicular to the face of the top'. It will be further seen that when the compartnlent member is returned to closed position the closure ll will also gravitate into closed position `and form In order to permit of the returning of the conmartment member to closed position without any undue noise a plurality of cushions 17, preferably in the nature of rubber cushions. are arranged upon the frame and upon which the c anpartment member is adapted to repose.. Similarly. the closure 14 is equipped with cushions 18 substantially similar to the cushions 17, with the said cushions 18 adapted to engage the desk in order that the closure will swing into closed position without any noise or jar.` It will be, of course. understood that any preferred form of cushion can be employed in place of the cushion set forth.

An actuating member 19 is provided with a longitudinal slot 20, through which passes a bolt 21 and-whereby the actuating member 19 will be slidably supported on one of the legs 22 of the desk 10, the said bolt`being adapted to limit the sliding movement of the actuating member, as will be readily understood by referring to the views. The upper end of the actuating member carries a pulley 23 over 'which is passed one end Of a cord 21 having its other end secured in any convenient manner. with the Said cord adaptedl to pass upwardly and over a pulley 25 journaled on a Wall of the desk 10, after inner end of the locking member has a lat-- ating member 19, a pull will be imparted to the cord, thus causing the compartment member 1G to be moved into exposed position. In order to retain the compartment member in closed position a locking member 27 is mounted to turn and to slide upon the desk 10 and preferably passes' through the upper end of one of the legs 22, the said locking member being encircled by a spring 27a having one end secured to the desk and the other end secured to the said member. The

eral locking flange 28 and which is adapted to be engaged by a projection 29 on the compartment member 17 after the same has been raised to exposed position, thus preventing the compartment member from returning to closed position. Upon pulling outwardly upon the locking member 26 and moving the same against the action of the spring 27 the locking` flange 28 will be moved from vits projection 29 and the compartment member can then be gravitated into closed position, the said actuating member 19 being adapted to act as a counterweight and prevent the compartment member from rapidly returning to closed position so that the action ofthe said compartment-member in being returned to its normal closed position will, in conjunction with the cushions 1'?, be accomplished without any jar or noise. 1When the compartment member is moved into open position, the projection 29 engaging the locking 'flange Q8 will cause the locking member 26 to be rotated against the action of the spring until the projection passes beyond the flange, after which the projection engaging the flange will cause the compartment member to be retained in an open and locked positio-n. As mentioned heretofore, the compartment member is the means for raising the closure and the closure is hinged to gravitate into closed position when the compartment member is returned to closed position. Thus a downward pressure upon the actuating member 19 will result in the closure being swung into open position by the upward movement of the compartment member.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the device described is of a simple and durable construction, consists of few parts and particularly when used in connection with a desk affords a convenient means for holding stationery or other supplies in conjunction with the desk and whereby, when the supplies are not in use or are not to be immediately used, thev can be arranged so as not to interfere or take up any unnecessary room on the top of the desk, while at the same time the supplies contained in the cabinet will be protected from dust and dirt which usually settles on the top of a desk.

It will be particularly noted that the movement of the compartment member is purely a vertical one and in the line or plane of a plurality of the legs of the desk so that any transverse or undue strain on the desk will be avoided in the operation of the device mentioned. y

I do not limit myself to the particular construction set forth in the views, and it will be apparent that various departures can be made from the representations on the diawings without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, l claim:

An operating mechanism for a cabinet compartment 4embodying a vertically slidable actuating member, a cord having connection with the cabinet and with one end of the vertically slidable 'actuating member, and a combined rotatable and slidable spring pressed locking member coperating with the cabinet.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence 'of two witnesses.

CLARENCE Hill/'EY ROBERTSN.

Witnesses: i

W. HUTCHINSON, STEPHEN TUNG. 

